Silence
by Granger-Danger-62442
Summary: My take on the 3x13 spoiler.


**Hi! *hides from crowd of boos* M'kay I know you all must hate me for leaving you hanging on Oblivious! (for the five of you that read it I love you) But I'm so horribly blocked on that one that it's not even funny. And then as you all know the infamous 3x13 episode is approaching soon. And, well, THIS happened. Not really a drabble, not really a one-shot. It's my mutant baby. 3**

**New to writing, so any (constructive) feedback that you could give me would be extremely appreciated! Thanks so much in advance.**

**Disclaimer: The wonder TV show Castle belongs to ABC and the equally wonderful Andrew Marlow. Soooo yea.**

******EDIT*******

**Okokokokokok SO I just saw Poof! You're Dead! last night; SQUEEEEE worthy much? I was dying of laughter. And at the end? That part where Beckett uses Castle as a table to sign off paperwork, and they're all discussing Lanie and Espo? That little bubble comment is a two way street friends! :D**

**And most importantly; you all saw the promo for Knockdown right? Way awesome! Can't WAIT! And the part where it shows them about to kiss, dude Beckett is TOTALLY smiling. So either they're REALLY good at acting on a stakeout, or SOMEPEOPLE were participating. ;)**

* * *

It was late; so late that it was almost early. They had done it once again: found another break in her mother's case. That's why she and Castle were now on stakeout duty outside of an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. It was a chilly night outside, and Beckett breathed on her hands trying to warm them up, cursing their inability to keep the car heat on.

Tensions were running high, as they always did when her mother came up, and both passengers in the car could feel it crackle light electricity. Which was fine with Beckett because as far as she was concerned the silence just made it easier to concentrate on the task at hand. She scanned the deserted parking lot for what seemed to be the thirtieth time, hoping to find something, anything, different.

"Beckett."

She didn't bother to turn her head, merely grunting in response. She didn't want to be distracted. She took another sip of her now lukewarm coffee before glaring at it in disgust, slamming the plastic cup back into its holder.

He tried again. "Beckett, talk to me. What are you thinking about?"

Silence.

With a sigh, Castle ran his hand through his hair before seeming to come to a conclusion.

"I know! Let's play a game. Here's how it works. I give you two options, and you tell me which one you'd rather do. Ready?"

Taking her slight growl as confirmation, he flashed her a mega-watt grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Alright! Would you rather…. Wear only the color green for the rest of your life, or completely shave your head?"

Not waiting for an answer, Castle pondered for a moment, "Quite frankly, I think I would rather shave my head. I mean, it's just hair; it grows back right? But if you, say, hated the color green, now that would just be cruel and unusual punishment don't you think? Unless you were a leprechaun I suppose, but the odds of finding those around _here _are..."

He continued to babble on, firing random questions at her right and left. Which he was then forced to answer while Beckett stewed in silence.

Logically, she knew he was only trying to help, trying to lighten the mood and get her mind off the severity of the case. And she appreciated the sentiment, recognized that he didn't _have_ to come on this stakeout with her. Her didn't _have_ to be here, and yet he chose to, because he could tell how badly this was affecting her. She appreciated it, really.

But right now, she wasn't in the mood for logic. She was tired and cold, and stretched to breaking point. She felt like her emotions had been poured into a bowl; balancing precariously on edge, ready to spill out, and she didn't know what would happen when it did. At the moment, thousands of scenarios ran through her head about how this could go down. What if she couldn't catch the man in time? What if she wasn't good enough and he got away again? Or, what if they _did _catch the monsters who'd done it? Would she be able to face them with her head up? Would Castle stand by while she read them their rights? Would she want him to? What if-?

"Oh c'mon Beckett," Caste's voice wheedled back into her thoughts, "lighten up a little will you?" He was grinding on her last nerve. "You're never too old for games-"

The bowl wobbled; tipped.

She snapped.

"Castle! Will you STOP that already! Could you please just grow up and act your age for five minutes! I don't need your little, 'Oh I'm bored let's go bother Beckett' antics right now. In case you haven't noticed, I'm actually trying to do my job! God, no wonder no one wants to stay married to you."

It was a low blow, and she regretted it the moment the words left her mouth and she saw him stiffen. But it was too late to take it back now, and too late for her to miss the pain in his eyes that was quickly masked by anger.

"That's rich, coming from you Detective," he shot back, leaning forward in his seat to look her in the eye. "At least I'm not Fort Beckett the impenetrable, at least I'm not afraid to actually open up to people! Not everyone's out to get you Detective, sometimes people are actually trying to help!" He landed back in his seat, frustration evident in his voice. "I wish you could see that!"

It was too much for Beckett.

She bolted out of the car that was suddenly too warm, seeking any escape possible.

She'd barely made it clear before she heard another slam, and footsteps that stopped only a couple feet behind her.

She refused to face turn and face him; refused to give in to the comfort she desperately sought, because she knew if she did there would be no going back. She would break down completely, and she didn't know if she'd be able to put herself back together again.

So she stood there stiffly and waited, what for she didn't know. She knew they were in the middle of a stakeout and that it was foolish to stand out in the open like they were, but right now she didn't care. Silence filled the air, broken only by the occasional car horn far off in the distance. So when she felt his hand on her shoulder she jumped, spinning around to glare at him.

"Castle!" she snarled, "Go-" but she didn't get a chance to finish before he had pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her waist and effectively trapping her in place. She stiffened against his touch, and refused to return the hug. "Castle! Let g-!" she tried again, but this time he spoke, and the sound of her name stopped her mid-sentence.

"Kate." The word was the only sound amidst the silence. It hung there for a moment, weightless, before he continued. "Kate, I'm not going to let you go. You need to realize that it's all right to ask for help sometimes when you really need it, that you have people who care about you, who want to help you. You don't have to do all of this alone."

Silence again. And then:

"What if I let her down Castle?" Still stiff in his embrace, she whispered the words against her better judgment, so quiet that she almost hoped he didn't hear them.

But he did.

"You won't."

"How do you know?"

His reply was simple:

"Because I know you."

At those words Kate's resolve finally crumbled. A ragged sob tore from her throat as she collapsed against Castle, desperately clutching at the lapels of his jacket.

He tightened his grip around her as she continued to sob into his chest, one hand traveling up from her back to stroke her hair gently. He didn't try to talk to her; the writer in him knew when to use words and when it was best to stay silent. He just held her, and waited until her sobs eased to sniffles. Even then, neither of them bothered to move, enjoying the other's warmth much more than was probably acceptable.

Eventually, reluctantly, Beckett pulled back, however she stayed within the circle of his arms. She looked up and gave him a small, watery smile.

"Thanks." She murmured shakily, not quite willing to break the silence around them.

"Anytime." His hand ghosted across her face to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, before returning to cup her face.

Turning her face into the touch, Beckett felt a twinge of guilt. "Listen, Castle. About what I said earlier, I-"

He silenced her by closing the distance between them; their mouths meeting, and Beckett knew that the argument was already forgotten She barely had time to register what was happening before he was pulling back.

When cobalt met hazel she saw the same emotions in his eyes that she knew were reflected in her own. However, they were muted by another that swam freely in view: apprehension. She knew then that it was her move.

Slowly, Kate reached up to cup the back of his next before pulling him down to her one more, the action met with a hum of approval. His arms tightened around her waist and she knew.

They'd be alright.

* * *

***cough* See that shiny review button? Would you click it? Please? *puppy dog eyes***

**Oh random question. My friend and I were wondering: **

**If Becket had a safe word, what would it be?**


End file.
